Sharapova Says Singapore Will Be Great Youth Olympic Games Host

SINGAPORE : Tennis sensation Maria Sharapova feels Singapore would make a good host for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010.

This is despite the fact that the Russian would prefer Moscow to win the bid.

Moscow currently leads the race, topping the five cities shortlisted by the International Olympic Committee.

The 20-year-old tennis star was speaking to the media ahead of her exhibition match at the Indoor stadium on Sunday.

Maria Sharapova has a packed schedule while in Singapore but she still had time for fans and the media, eager to ask everything about her game and personal life.

And it’s ironic that the Russian star is in the city which is going head-on against her country to host the first Youth Olympic Games in 2010.

But Sharapova showed that she is adept with words as much as she in with tennis.

Sharapova says: “I love for it to come to Moscow, but I mean both places are incredible, but I don’t think that you can go wrong, with either one, I think each one is a great candidate but you know may the best win.”

Also playing the diplomatic game is fellow Russian, Anna Chakvetadze, who will play against Sharapova.

She says: “Off course I would like Russia to win, but if Singapore wins, it also would be great, because it is good thing for Asia, for Singapore and I think both cities can win.”

Singapore could not have asked for a better endorsement from the Russian stars.

Oon Jin Teik, CEO, Singapore Sports Council, says: “Hey, if the two Russians can have a good time, then Singapore obviously is a good place to host the Youth Olympic Games.”

Away from the Games, Sharapova was also asked about the dark side of tennis – the scourge of drugs and match-fixing which invaded the men’s game recently.

Sharapova says: “The women’s game is very clean, our CEO is doing all things possible from having meetings throughout the year to encouraging players to be safe and smart about their choices, he is been really good on that. Unfortunately, we have to be realistic on the fact that some of these things do go on, they are fact, unless you actually get a written statement.”

As for their showdown, both women say it will be a tough game, though Chakvetadze has never beaten Sharapova in all their previous encounters. – CNA/ch

Channel News Asia

SEA Games: Philippines’ Daniel Could Be A Big Star In The Making

KORAT, Thailand: A little over two years ago, Daniel Coakley was training on his own in Hawaii.

His father, a native of the islands, had married Daniel’s mum, who hailed from the Philippines.

Hawaii was home, and he swam on his own.

Then, Daniel’s oldest brother heard about the Philippines’ programme offering promising sportsmen of Filipino parentage dual citizenship and the chance to represent the country.

The 17-year-old decided to take the plunge and after a year was selected to race for the Philippines at last December’s Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.

He clocked a time of 23.98s in the 50m freestyle there and was also part of the 4×100m freestyle relay team that came in sixth, but crucially, it was his first taste of a multi-event Games programme.

Monday at the Aquatic Centre here in Korat, Thailand, he signalled his arrival on the international stage with a storming win in the 50m freestyle.

His time of 22.80s rewrote the previous Games record of 22.96 set in 2005 and it ensured he made the ‘B’ cut for next year’s Olympic Games in Beijing.

“Joining this team ῅ it’s the best thing I’ve done,” said the youngster.

“In this team we are all so close and I can honestly say that we are like family.”

Many had tipped the likes of Singapore’s Bryan Tay and Thailand’s Arwut Chinanapasaen to take gold Monday, no one had even heard of Daniel.

But the youngster has swimming in his blood. He is the grand nephew of a Filipino sporting legend, the late Teofilo Yldefonso, who won the Philippines’ first Olympic medal, taking bronze in the 200m breaststroke at the 1928 Games.

Yldefonso repeated the feat four years later.

Daniel says he has never felt out of place in the Filipino swim team, thanks to his mother.

“I grew up eating lots of Filipino food that my mum cooked,” he said. “And it’s really healthy stuff. You know, I’ve never taken vitamin supplements because my mother believes that it’s all there in the vegetables that she cooks. And we had no choice but to eat them.”

“My mother and her family are all so proud of being Filipino,” he revealed. “I felt that this was one way I could give back.”

He did give back, and in the process set the tone for the swimming team for the Philippines Monday.

Miguel Molina captured the men’s 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:18.11, while Ryan Arabejo clocked 15:53.16 to comfortably win the men’s 1,500m freestyle.

But undoubtedly the star of the day for the Philippines was Daniel.

Next up for him is college and he’s thinking about heading to Florida for a university with a good swimming programme. He’s not going to think too much about the Olympics just yet, until he gets back into the weights room.

As for his new Games record, the laidback Daniel played down his achievement.

“I feel really good about winning but, really, it could’ve been anybody’s day,” said the strapping 1.88m-tall swimmer. “That’s what the 50-free is like.”
-

Channel News Asia

SEA Games: Traditional Sports May Be Ditched For Olympic Events

KORAT: For some of the 3,000 odd athletes taking part in this year’s Southeast Asian Games, it could be their last chance at medal glory.

Some officials are considering ditching traditional SEA sports from future Games, to focus on Olympic events.

There are also calls to clamp down on biased judging.

Dancesport may be a big hit among Filipinos, but it is not an Olympic Games medal sport.

In the last Games held in the Philippines, several countries were unhappy that the host country introduced other non-Olympic sports like softball and Filipino martial arts, arnis.

Many felt it was a move in favour of the Philippines. Some had even considered bringing up the issue at the ASEAN Summit.

20-year-old basketball player Zhao Jing was hoping to represent Singapore in the last SEA Games.

But the Basketball Association of the Philippines dropped the sport just two weeks before the Games started.

“The Basketball Association had some problems so even though we trained very hard, we were told it won’t be in the SEA Games,” said Zhao.

That is why a fixed programme focusing on Olympic sports may help to add credibility.

Singaporean Chris Chan belongs to SEA Games Sports and Rules Committee.

He said: “Our programme for each game fluctuates. Thailand has 43 sports now and the next SEA Games at Laos may have 22 sports because that’s what they can host, so there’re no standard sports. One of the requirements is for us to determine the sports, probably between 30 and 32.”

To achieve this, he said the SEA Games Committee needs to raise funds.

That would help associations run future Games more professionally, including hiring international referees.

Chan is also part of the SEA Games Think Tank Committee and said marketing the Games and selling television rights would be a start.

“The population of 11 countries is 580 million so we believe there’s a market. When we get the funds back from marketing, TV rights and merchandise, the money can go back to the 11 councils and the games will be much better organised,” he added.

Several sports marketing companies have already been short-listed to promote future events.

- CNA/so

Channel News Asia

Volleyball: Bulgaria Clinches Place At Beijing Olympics

TOKYO : World bronze medallists Bulgaria clinched a place at the Beijing Olympics when they defeated Argentina in the men’s World Cup volleyball tournament on Sunday.

The Bulgarians rallied to a 25-17, 25-22, 25-23 victory for a 9-2 win-loss record to secure one of the top three places in the 12-team round robin competition to join world champions Brazil at the Olympics.

The top three finishers in the World Cup qualify for the Beijing Olympics next year.

It is only the seventh time that Bulgaria have qualified for the Olympics and the first since the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Their best finish was as the runners-up in the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

“This was an extremely important game, especially for me personally, because this is maybe the last chance to go to the Olympics. The Olympics are dreams for every athlete,” said Nikolov Vladimir who scored 11 points.

“Now we are tired, very tired, we put maximum concentration, maximum motivation, and I’m very happy that we won.”

Captain Plamen Konstantinov said: “This was the most important tournament for us this year, and maybe all the last four years, we were preparing for this year to reach the Olympic Games next year.”

“So it’s a big day for Bulgarian volleyball. We didn’t qualify for the last two Olympic Games, so it was a very important goal,” he added.

Bulgarian coach Martin Stoev said the biggest different from their performance at the European championships two months ago was the format of the tournament in which they were drawn in a stronger preliminary group.

Bulgaria eventually ended at a lowly eighth in Europe.

“This was not our best game, but the most important thing is the victory. Our players are getting tired and we had also small injuries,” Stoev said. – AFP/ch

Channel News Asia